Launch and discussion of URG NYC’s report on ‘Current Status of the UN’s Human Rights up Front Initiative’

Universal Rights Group NYC and the Jacob Blaustein Institute have co-organized this launch and discussion of Universal Rights Group NYC’s report on the present status of Human Rights up Front: ‘Policy or Aspiration: Shedding Light on the Current Status of the UN’s Human Rights Up Front Initiative.’

The question of ‘what happened to Human Rights up Front’ is an oft repeated refrain in meetings with New York civil society. However, little consistent, clear information had been offered on the status of the initiative within the UN secretariat. This led to many inside and outside that system to believe that the initiative was dead, or reconfigured beyond recognition. This report, the product of nearly a year of research, conversations, and analysis, sheds light on the current status of the UN’s “Human Rights up Front” (HRuF) initiative, identifying key areas in which it resembles as well as differs from the original initiative.

In light of recent reports of UN failure in Myanmar tragically reminiscent of those that inspired the creation of the HRuF initiative, the report identifies the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, including in the context of new UN reforms that could have a substantial impact on the organization’s ability to respond as “one UN” to human rights crises in the future. URG’s report on the present status of HRuF seeks to understand the origins, evolution, impact, and – ultimately – the fate of HRuF.